Elitist, wasteful and badly managed. - Assistant The National Trust Employee Review

The high standards outsiders thinks the Trust stands for are rarely upheld within the organisation. Everyone gets a grand sounding job title that bears no relation to their skills and qualifications - or rather lack of....... One notable example (and just one of many........) a House and Collections Manager who had absolutely no conservation or collection management training or experience, who shamefacedly had to admit he didn't recognise the furniture beetles I presented him with on my first day. The few trained and qualified curators employed in the area were so overstretched it was no wonder properties and collections were being neglected or even actively damaged by House Stewards and other managers who just didn't know any better. Jobs tend to be handed out not on merit, but on quality of middle-class markers displayed by candidates, or just good-old fashioned nepotism. There appeared to be a trend of employing young female graduates to positions of responsibility, rather than heritage professionals with the kind of background you might expect. It took 3 months just to get paid. Other staff at the property said this was not unusual, and that being underpaid was common. I'd advise carefully checking your payslips and not letting payroll fob you off. The donor family who lived at the property were treated and spoken to so rudely by managers, that I was actually embarrassed to speak to them when I did see them about the grounds. I met quite a lot of racists, and once a manager said to me that they were 'mindful' when advertising events to avoid places that 'chavs' might hear about them. Since quitting, I have spoken to other ex-employees that have told me that my experiences were sadly very similar to their own in other properties up and down the country.